Question

A course that costs $500 will allow you to get a job that pays $2 more per hour than your current job. How many hours will you need to work at the new job before your investment in education has "paid off"?

Answer 1

Let

x-------> number of hours required to pay for the course

we know that

the total cost of the course is $
`500` and the new job pays $
`2` more per hour than the current job

There is not enough data in the problem to calculate the total payment, so only the additional payment of $
`2` per hour will be considered.

Hence

Divide $
`500` by $
`2` to obtain the number of hours

`x=(500)/(2) \\ \\ x=250hours`

therefore

the answer is

`250`
`hours`

Answer 2

Given:
Cost of course : $500
number of hours : x
pay per hour : 2

2x = 500
2x/2 = 500/2
x = 250 hours

I need to work $250 hours earning $2 per hour to pay off my investment in education amount to $500.

I did not consider the pay from my previous job because it is not relevant in the computation. The $2 extra pay from the new job is the only amount I can spare to pay for my educational investment.